


The Days of the 'Dying Moon'

by Neisseria_Meningitidis



Category: Re:ゼロから始める異世界生活 | Re:Zero Starting Life in Another World (Anime)
Genre: All is fair during those days, Double fluffly friendship, Felt is the self-declared Queen of the Dying Moon, Fluff, Friendship, Garfiel is a prodigy too., Gen, Lugnican hardcore version of Halloween, Magic Tricks, Some blood and gore, Subaru and Reinhard have fun, tags will change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-16 04:21:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28700592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Neisseria_Meningitidis/pseuds/Neisseria_Meningitidis
Summary: The Days of the 'Dying Moon' were the day when the Witch's influence was at its strongest. So every year, the Lugnican held a festival of fright to scare off the Witch and her Mabeasts.This year, Subaru and Reinhard team up and the former decided to bring some of his world 'magic' into the mix. At the same time, Felt and Garfiel want to make the most out of those days.
Comments: 36
Kudos: 202





	1. The Queen of the Game

Even though he was only twenty years old, Reinhard was already a man of habit. He tended to follow his morning routine as much as he could, no matter the place or the weather. Today was no exception and he went out to train in the small garden at 5 am sharp. 

Felt tried to dissuade him from waking up so early, claiming that being on a ‘vacation’ should release him from his knightly duties. But with all due respect to his Lady, Reinhard reminded her that they were not here to rest but on a ‘diplomatic mission’. Most of the Royal candidates decided to meet for the ‘Dying Moon Festival’ to show some semblance of unity in front of the people of Lugnica. 

The days of the ‘Dying Moon’ were a sensible topic for Lugnican, it was believed that those few days, when the moon took on a strange blue tint, were the days where the Witch’s powers were at their peak. Thus the population feared the Witch’s return greatly and even the mabeast were said to become even more vicious than usual. Every Lugnican had heard stories of children being snatched away by mabeasts on those fateful days, some people even pretend to have seen the Witch walk freely during the night. 

So to scare away the Witch and her hoards of mabeasts back to her tomb, Lugnicans clad themselves in frightening costumes. Years after years, the focus slightly shifted from scaring the witch directly to scaring each other. And nowadays, it was the terrified screams of adults and children alike that were said to be repelling the Witch and her beast. Therefore many tricks and horrifying pranks were played on unsuspecting citizens during those three days. Everything was considered fair game: delivering fake dreadful news, dropping insects or even spiders on someone’s head, trapping people in the most terrifying place. Anything as long as it was in the name of scaring the Witch away. 

In his twenty years of life, Reinhard never really participated in the festival. Many tried to scare him using lies, magic tricks, threats, and even blood and gore but he never was one to scream in front of danger. Moreover, the idea to purposefully make people afraid of him made him uncomfortable. He knew that his mere presence alone could be unsettling, he didn’t need to add to his uncanny aura. People already had enough reason to be afraid of him. 

But this year was his first ‘Dying Moon’ festival as Lady Felt’s knight and his master was insistent on his participation. His lady considered herself a true maestro of fright and she challenged him in a ‘scare duel’. In her grand generosity, she allowed him to get all the help he needed, but the idea of actively upsetting someone, more so, his own lady was… distressing. 

Reinhard planned to use the tranquility of earlier morning to think about an appropriate way to answer his Lady’s request. The first night of the ‘Dying Moon’ was already tomorrow, he had some serious thinking to do to not disappoint. 

He was about to begin his routine when he saw something move in a nearby tree. It could have been a feral animal using what few leaves remained on the tree to hide from him, however, his intuition told him otherwise. He approached the tree slowly, making sure not to scare away whatever was hiding behind the leaves.

“Boo!” Subaru's head appeared beneath the ruffled leaves. Fortunately, he was only hanging upside-down from a sturdy branch. “Did I scare you?” he smiled as he swung from left to right. 

“You did surprise me.” Reinhard laughed warmly at his friend's antics. Obviously, Subaru did not scare him in any way, but Reinhard was agreeably surprised. “But what are you doing hanging from a tree… so early in the morning.” Playing in a tree was one thing, but doing it at 5 am was even more curious. 

“I wanted to scare you!” Subaru showed both hands while clawing his fingers. “ROAAAAR. Fear me!” 

Reinhard let himself giggle at Subaru's poor attempt at looking intimidating. He was the only one who could act as endearing as his Lady Felt. They both had this adorable energy in them, like a kitten trying to pass off for a lion. Or like a child trying on their parent's clothes. Not that they couldn't be vicious or dangerous, far from it. Attracting their ire could be a death sentence, but their usual rough demeanor was as sweet as candy.

“Guess it means no…” Subaru couldn't hide his disappointment. “I always wake up early but today I got up extra early. I wanted to fall back asleep but couldn't.”

“So hid in a tree?” no matter how much Reinhard tried, he never understood the logic behind half of Subaru's actions. 

“Yes.” Subaru shrugged as he answered what seemed to be an obvious question.

To fight the boredom of being the only one awake, Subaru started his morning training as soon as 4:30 am. He would have stayed in bed longer but he had been afraid of waking up his precious Beatrice by moving around too much. Beatrice was a light sleeper, Subaru proposed to let her have her own bed but the spirit refused. She said it was to be close to him if anything happened, but the truth was that she knew holding his hand had the power to save him from his terrible nightmares. Moreover, it helped her fall asleep faster too.

After his daily radio calisthenics, which he wasn't used to doing alone anymore, he decided to hone his parkour skills by climbing the trees in the garden. As much as he disliked Clind, his training had been excellent and Subaru knew that one day it would be life-saving too. So he trained diligently, the only reason he stopped his climbing was because of Reinhard's unexpected arrival. Now that somebody else was awake, all his motivation to train melted away. Especially since he can't even remember the last time he had the opportunity to converse with the Sword Saint.

“Anyway, why the long face? Is it the dead moons thingy?” Subaru knew that everybody was fretting around about the festival but he couldn't even understand why it was so important. If he understood correctly, it was a more extreme version of Halloween. However, everyone he knew acted like it was their own wedding. “The moon won't actually die, right? Emilia already told me so but I have to ask again… Just to be sure, you know.”

“Do you mean the days of the ‘Dying Moon’?”

Subaru nodded furiously, he heard about those days from everyone at the mansion. Frederica and Garfiel seemed to be big fans of it when Otto had been far more reserved. The latter even passed on coming to the ‘diplomatic meeting’ because he claimed to be the usual victim of the ‘Dying Moon’ pranks. Ram would have berated him for running away from his duties but even she could see the haunted look in the merchant’s eyes. Whatever happened in his past must have been traumatizing.

Fortunately, Garfiel offered to act as their ministry of affair for the trip, not that he could actually act like one but the eagerness in his eyes was adorable. Thus, Emilia, Garfiel, Beatrice, and himself took one of the carriages and Patrasche and met Crush and her faction at her estate. Lady Crush was still wise and considerate even without her memories and she knew that the last thing the Lugnica's population needed in those trying times was discord. So to make a strong display of unity during the most precarious time of the year, she invited every ‘Royal Candidates’ and their courts. Only Priscilla failed to answer the call, which was to be expected but still disappointed Lady Crush and her faction.

“So, so. Why is the ‘Dead Moon’ troubling you?” Subaru was genuinely intrigued, only Otto seemed to actively dislike the Lugnican version of Halloween.

“Thank you for your concern, but it is nothing important.” Reinhard shook his head as he spoke.

“Cooooome on!” Subaru swung himself left and right in agitation. “Tell me! Tell me! Spill the tea! Spill the tea!”

“There is no tea to spill I’m afraid.” Reinhard raised his hands defensively. “Just a mere… setback.” 

“Mmmm.” Subaru put his hand on his chin as he dived deep into his thoughts. “Did Felt challenge you in ‘scare duel’?” he grimaced as he imitated Felt’s voice. 

“How did you kno-” 

“BECAUSE SHE CHALLENGED ME TOO!” Subaru's outburst was so violent that he almost fell off his branch. “She told me I was too chicken to do anything worthwhile and you know what?” 

“What?” Reinhard took a step back, readying himself for Subaru’s next fit of furor. 

“EMILIA AGREED! SHE SAID I WAS TOO YOUNG TO PARTICIPATE!” Subaru started to wriggle around in aggravation making the branch crack with every move. “This is bullshit! Ultimate bullshit! MEGA ULTIMATE BULLSH- wait.” Subaru stopped dead in his tracks.

Reinhard stopped looking at the slowly collapsing branch and focused back on Subaru. Reinhard tried his hardest to follow his friend’s train of thought, but Subaru was simply thinking too fast for him. Even his blessing of empathy couldn’t keep up, Subaru’s temper could shift in less than a second. Reinhard would have paid no mind to this quirk of his, if he didn’t feel Subaru’s mood dramatically sour without warning at times. As much as it worried him, Reinhard never found a way to bring up this touchy subject. He knew from experience that people didn’t take kindly to him infringing on their privacy. And Subaru seemed to value his the most out of everyone Reinhard knew.

“I have an idea!” Subaru restarted after a few seconds of wavering. “I HAVE AN IDEA!” he applauded himself in excitement. “We should team up! You and I versus the world!”

“Team up?” Reinhard smiled to hide his incomprehension. 

“YES! We’re going to win this ‘Dead Moon Duel’, we’ll be the D.M.D champions!” Subaru used his hand to mimic the anagram’s letters. “Felt and Emilia would have no choice but to recognize our superior D.M.D skills!” 

To display his nebulous D.M.D skills, Subaru moved his arms with incredible amplitude as if he was executing a foreign dance only he knew of. After being satisfied by his dramatic dance and poses, he resumed his light swaying upside-down.

“So you’re in?” Subaru offered his hand. “I think we can be pretty great together. No! We will be legendary!” 

Reinhard was about to refuse Subaru’s tempting offer but he stopped himself right before. He always had a heavy distaste for bothering his friends with his problems, especially when they were so trivial. But Subaru’s excitement was infectious, even so early in the morning. Reinhard was pretty sure that Subaru’s wacky charms could convince him of almost everything.

But above all, Reinhard didn’t have the heart to deny such a harmless request. What kind of friend would willingly break his friend’s heart?

“Alright, alright. What’s the plan?” Reinhard took Subaru’s hand and shook it. He, however, never let go of it as he eyed the fragile branch Subaru was abusing for ten minutes now. 

“Ah, shit, I thought you were the guy with a plan…” Subaru started looking around him for inspiration, twisting his waist and the branch with each move. “Let me see… Let me see… We must do something new, something unexpected. Something neither Felt nor Emilia ever saw before.” 

“I cannot speak for Emilia, but Felt claims to know every trick in the book… while I know none.” Reinhard supposed he could fetch a blessing to help him in his quest, but now that he had his friend’s help, he had no desire to. He was sure that Subaru could come up with something way better than the almost mechanical nature of his blessing ever could. “But I guess she never saw us team-up before.” 

“Yes, yes, yes! We are going to show her our- WAIT!” Subaru clapped both his hands on Reinhard’s face. 

“Yesh?” Reinhard tried to speak, but Subaru’s pressure on his cheek was so intense it kept him from moving his lips properly. Even though he was still holding one of Subaru’s hands as a safeguard, Subaru paid no mind and continued to play his Reinhard’s face. 

“You’re like me, right? You can’t use magic too? You’re a member of the clogged gate syndrome, too!” 

Reinhard nodded, not understanding why it would be a good thing.

“I KNEW IT! Then I know what we should do!” True to himself, Subaru started to swing himself widely in excitement once again. 

The branch continued to crack and splinter under Subaru’s weight and abuse. Subaru's last swing was, however, too much for the old wood and the branch finally collapse after a quarter an hour of relentless torture. Subaru fell headfirst toward the ground, only to be rescued by Reinhard who had been more than ready to catch him in time. Unfazed by the incident and still cradled in his savor's arms, Subaru did nothing but offer his best grin to Reinhard.

“What do you know about magic tricks?” 

Against all odds, Subaru’s grin grew even wider and Reinhard started to deeply regret his decision. He should have known that Subaru was a madman who needed no help to cause chaos.

+++++++

Felt was sitting on the handrail of the estate’s mezzanine, watching carefully as Reinhard and Subaru continued to snicker and whisper things in each other's ears, hiding themselves behind a gigantic sheet of paper. She had never seen the two of them so close and secretive before, and she could feel it was about the ‘Days of the Dying Moon’ and her little challenge. She did tell them they could use all the help they could get and they seemed to have found each other.

“Look at them, Garf. They actually think they can scare us. Aren’t they cute?” Felt looked at Garfiel who was leaning on the handrail, just next to her. 

“Yeah, Capt'n migh’ try his best. But my Amazing self been born fo’ this day!” 

“You bet, brother!” 

Felt snapped her finger and on her cue Garfiel high-fived her. She might have been only a candidate for the Lugnican throne, but she was the unofficial Queen of the days of the ‘Dying Moon’. The whole slum, Old Man Rom included, feared her mere presence during those days, and that as early as she was ten. And she was ready to show the Astrae’s domain what her title meant until she received Crush’s invitation. Now she was going to show the ‘upper crust’ of Lugnica who the true Queen was and she couldn’t wait.

First, she made a priority of frightening the inhumanely unshakable ‘Sword Saint’. Second, she would teach the aforenamed ‘Sword Saint’ how to loosen up and actually enjoy the best time of the year. Third, show her utter domination over the spoon-feed Lugnican nobility. 

When she came to Crush’s mansion, she had planned to do everything alone until she met him. The only other person worthy of being called royalty of this game of fright: Garfiel Tinsel. She could see that they shared the same sacred fire. Ton, Chin, and Kan laughed at her when she said it, but it was just their destiny. Reinhard was made to carry a big sword, Anastasia was made to make big bucks, and they were made to scare the world into submission.

“So spill the bean, do you think Subaru is actually a threat?” Felt leaned toward Garfiel. 

“The Capt’n ‘s like a fish in the mist!” Garfiel hit the handrail with his fist. “Swimmin’ and flyin’!” 

“And what is that supposed to mean?” Felt looked at Garfiel perplexed but the boy didn’t seem to see the problem with his sentence. 

“I do think it means that mister Natsuki Subaru can be quite unpredictable sometimes.” 

Lady Crush allowed herself to butt in the conversation and joined the two young teens near the handrail. This last-minute gathering had been her idea and it would be a shame if she didn’t use it to socialize with her fellow Royal Candidates. Even without her memories, she owned the people of Lugnica the best she could do. And she had to admit that she took a liking to Felt’s and even Garfiel's effervescent personalities.

“Exactly, you neve’ know if the Capt’n will be swimmin’ or flyin’. That’s why my amazin’ self recommends to always stay on our guards.” Garfiel raised his arms in front of his face, putting himself literally in a guarding position. 

“I have to admit, I’m surprised myself.” Crush sighed and leaned on the rail, between Felt and Garfiel. “When I invited the legendary ‘Sword Saint’ and the mastermind behind the slaying of the ‘White Whale’, I expected to meet battle-hardened veterans.” she watched the two boys giggling between two whispers as she sported an amused look on her face. “Not two children playing with an oversized piece of paper...” 

Even though it was unexpected, Crush was happy to be wrong about Reinhard and Subaru. Finding youthful innocence in those acquainted with the battlefield was like finding an oasis in the middle of the desert. It showed her that life and its joys never disappeared entirely and it was a true ray of hope in such dark times. Between the country’s turmoil, the Witch Cult’s recent resurgence, and what happened to her personally, she needed to hear some genuine laughter.

“What’s on that paper anyway?” Felt asked to no-one in particular. This paper had been the subject of Reinhard and Subaru’s undivided attention for more than half an hour now. 

“Must be Capt’n plans for the Fadin’ Moons.” Garfiel answered Felt's question, he was just as intrigued by her.

“The Dying Moon, you mean?” Felt raised an eyebrow, Garfiel had been mispronouncing the name of her sacred holiday for too long. If he wanted a place next to her on top of the ‘Dying Moon’ Hierarchy, he needed to start respecting it sooner rather than later. 

“Nop’, Fadin’ Moons.” he scoffed. “Lik’ everybody says, my amazin’ self included.”

“You’re the only one who says that.” Felt rolled her eyes. “Just admit you’re wrong.” 

“What, ya the one-” 

“I suggest you stop arguing about dialect.” Crush put a hand on each teens’ shoulders. “And you start finding what’s so interesting about this paper.” Crush smiled softly, watching children play during the 'Dying Moon’ festival was always a delight and there were no reasons to argue between friends. 

“That’s the first sensible thing I heard all day!” Felt raised her arms in exasperation. “Come on, Garf. Time to study our rivals.” 

Felt jumped off the handrail and landed square in her feet, only squatting slightly to reduce the impact on her legs. Garfiel jumped just after, hitting the ground as if he weighed two tons and making the floor shake beneath his feet.

Felt tiptoed and advanced slowly toward her targets, not making a single sound. Garfiel, knowing his limitations, just waited where he stood and watched Felt do her thing. As Reinhard and Subaru seemed extremely secretive about the paper’s content, then her only hope to see it was by using surprise. She thought of simply looking over their shoulders, but she never managed (yet) to sneak up on the ‘Sword Saint’. The gods knew she tried and she tried hard, though. 

As she walked closer to them, she couldn’t see their faces anymore as the gigantic sheet of paper hid them completely. To overcome this minor setback, she pricked up her ears and listened to their whispering. She couldn’t make out what they said over their snickering and giggling but she knew who talked when.

“Ca- --- we ---- orange?” she heard Subaru whisper.

“Only i-- ----- ------- red --- like--- -----.” Reinhard answered, his smile obvious in his voice. 

Felt needed to strike when Reinhard was the one talking, only when he was distracted would she have a chance to surprise him. She knew today would be her day, the day she would finally outsmart and out fast him and his plethora of cheat abilities.

“May I help you, Lady Felt?”

Felt grimaced when she heard her knight’s voice, her expression only soured when he lowered the paper sheet and she saw his unfaltering smile.

“Yo Felt!” Subaru saluted her with a single hand, the other being used to hold the sheet. “What’s up? Oh and Garfiel’s there too!” he extended his salutation to his friend. 

“Yo Capt’n, the winds are strong ag’nst the waves!” Garfiel waved both his hands, giving Subaru the toothy smile he shared with his sister. 

“No time for pleasantries!” Felt moved apart her legs and puffed her chest to look as intimidating as she could. “Fess’ up! What are you scheming about! What’s on the sheet!” 

“Nothing.” Subaru shrugged.

“Who do you believe me for? Kan? Chin? Ton even???” she felt insulted by just saying their names. 

“Of course not, my Lady.” Reinhard shook his head slowly, he would never dare. "However, Subaru is not lying. There is nothing worth seeing on this paper.” he tapped lightly on it as he spoke. 

“I’ll be the one deciding that.” Felt snatched the paper off the boys’ hand in one swift move. “Thank you.” 

As soon as Felt got a hold of the mysterious sheet of paper, Garfiel giddily joined her, his curiosity eating him away. Felt cleared her throat and spread out the sheet in front of them, only to see the undeniable truth: the sheet was entirely blank, there was literally nothing on it.

“Told you so~” Subaru almost chanted in smugness. “We would never lie to you, Felt.” 

Felt blinked a few times to get a better hold of herself. They couldn’t have been looking at a blank paper for thirty minutes, there must be a trick, she thought. She scrutinized every inch of the paper, turned it around, put it in front of a strong light, felt it under her fingertips, smelled it, and tasted it even.

Not giving up on her quest to find the secret of the blank paper sheet, she gave it to Garfiel, if her human senses failed her, maybe his demi-human blood could make him see what she didn’t. Garfiel smelled it tentatively, not convinced of the utility of doing so, but he could find anything strange about the paper. It was just what it appeared to be: a blank sheet of paper.

“This is bullshit!” Felt stomped her foot on the wooden floor, she didn’t like being taken for a fool. “Don’t tell me you’ve been staring at nothing for thirty minutes!” 

Both Reinhard and Subaru looked at each other for an impossibly long time before facing the furious little lion princess and beaming their best smile at her.

“So you want to play?” Felt grinned back, snapped her fingers with both hands. “Then, be ready to lose.” 

A few meters away from Felt and the boys, Crush was still leaning on the handrail, stiffing her laughter as hard as she could. She never thought she would get to witness a war of wits and passion today, but she wouldn’t complain.

In fact, she couldn’t wait to see what everyone had in store for the blood-curling days of Dying Moon.


	2. At Knife Point

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ferris is too tired for this shit.

Tonight would be the first night of the festival and Ferris could not be in a sourer mood. Those nights were nothing but agony to him, but he knew how to cheer himself up. Festival or not, there were no reasons to skip on his privileged ‘Ferris Time’; in fact, he needed it more than ever. 

Every day at 3 pm sharp, the smallest kitchen of the estate would be empty of all life; yet its cupboards would still be brimming with sweets. And since Lady Crusch invited her fellow ‘Royal Candidates’ to spend the week with her, she also took care of only buying the finest dishes to spoil her esteemed guests. That fact alone almost made the festival worth it in his eyes… almost. 

He took a long detour to access the small kitchens, as he wanted to hide his gluttonous inclinations from his friends; and more importantly, the people Lady Crusch wanted to impress. He couldn’t embarrass her by being caught red-handed in the literal cookie jar. Thankfully, he had honed his sneaking skills for years, he knew the way to this kitchen – his safe haven – like the back of his hand. 

But before putting his hand on the handle of this private paradise, he heard voices hushing inside it. Ferris wanted to scream and shoo away the intruders, however, the curiosity inside him pushed him to put his feline her ear on the wooden door. With how sharp his hearing was, he could hear even the smallest whispers within the kitchen. 

“You’ve been doing pretty good, Subaru. I am truly impressed.” 

“What can I say? I am a fast learner.” 

Ferris leaned on more on the door, his ears perked up when he recognized Reinhard’s voice chanting with joy followed by Subaru’s smuggish inflection. What were they doing alone in the kitchen? 

Ferris could smell the tea of future gossip brewing in this kitchen. 

“Ok, ok, ok, ok. I think I’m ready… Yes, I’m ready!”

“Are you sure?” A pause. “I don’t want you to feel pressured, we can fi–” 

“ _ Nope! _ I said: I’m ready! I won’t bail out like yesterday… Still sorry about that by the way.” 

Ferris rarely heard Subaru sound so sheepish, it only made his interest in whatever was happening in the kitchen soar to infinite height. He knew eavesdropping was usually a terrible thing to do, but if the gods cursed him with apparent cat ears, he had every right to use them. 

“Wait, wait. I think it’s better if I get on the counter, we can’t do it on the floor like savages.” 

“Let me help you then.” 

Ferris heard some shifting around in the kitchen followed by a loud thump. He jumped in surprise, a mild sound to the majority of the population was deafening for his sensitive ears. He couldn't resist the need to put it back on the door; all the sweets in the world were worthless in front of the juicy stuff happening in this kitchen. 

A more reasonable part of Ferris tried to reel him in, maybe there was a candid explanation for what he was listening to. He always had a hyperactive imagination, it wouldn't be the first time he misinterpreted whispers. But his poor brain couldn’t conjure up any innocent explanation for what he was hearing. 

Still... before jumping to the juiciest of conclusions, he needed to listen a bit more; just to be sure. 

“How can you carry me like I weigh nothing, with one hand no less! Stop crushing my man's pride already!”

“Don't worry, Subaru. If you want to know, I find you very manly.”

“Dear God, you're merciless.”

Ferris started to bounce around, still gluing one of his ears on the door; Crusch would just not believe him when he would tell her about what he found out. If it was what he thought it was – and he hoped so – then it was the news of the decade, no, the news of the century!

The secret of the ‘Sword Saint’s’ heart was finally revealed and nobody would have seen it coming. 

“Are you comfortably installed? There are better places to lay down than on a wooden counter, you know.”

“Yeah, yeah, don’t worry. Just don’t make me wait.” Impatience and apprehension were oozing from Subaru’s voice. 

“I’m sure we could find somewhere more comfortable, we are not in a hurry, after all.” Reinhard's voice was as gentle as ever, a stark contrast from Subaru’s. 

“Yes, we are! Now, bring it out already!” 

“Are you su–”

“Stop patronizing me, stop hitting my pride in the face, it’s already dead. Have mercy.” 

“As you wish.”

It was it, Ferris thought, but he couldn't open the door just yet. He just needed to wait a little longer, so he could catch them in the act; to destroy the last shards of doubts in his mind. Ferris couldn’t find any reasonable explanations for Subaru sheepishly laying over the kitchen counter, away from all prying eyes with only Reinhard by his sides.

But to be fair, Ferris couldn’t understand half of what went through Subaru’s head. 

“Dear God.” Subaru’s voice got higher with shock.

“Are you feeling fine? You look awfully nervous.”

“How can I not be nervous with… with that giant thing hovering over my face.” The sound of something hitting violently the wood followed Subaru’s exclamation. 

“Oh. Is it really that impressive? Didn’t you say that you wanted it as big and impressive as possible?” 

“As big as possible  _ within reason! _ ” Subaru scoffed. “Oh, and shut up with the ‘oh, is really that impressive?’ bullshit! It’s easy for you to say, you’re not the one on the receiving end!” 

Ferris froze, letting go of the door handle he was about to turn. As much as he wanted to open the door, was he ready for what he was about to see? Could he even look at Reinhard the same way anymore?

“Maybe we can try slowly at first? Or maybe you should close your eyes, it could make things easier.”

“Ok, ok, ok. You’re right.” Subaru took a deep breath. “Let’s go, do your worst.”

“Alright. But please, it’s fine if it’s too much for you. Do not hesitate to say it, I won’t judge you... far from it.” Reinhard paused for a few seconds. “On the count of three, one, two, th-” 

“ _ Wait _ ! Wait! I need to prepare myself mentally first.” 

“Are you afraid that I may hurt you?” Reinhard’s voice oozed with concerns and a touch of disappointment. 

“Look at it! One wrong move and it might get… bloody. I wouldn't want to ruin their counter, it feels like some really classy wood.”

“Why is ruining the counter the first thing you think about?”

“I may look like a savage but I fancy myself a wood… coinosor? eeeh... conoisineur?  _ connoisseur! _ ” 

“Do not worry for the counter or for your well-being. I will never harm you, this I swear on my life.” 

“Aww, you’re so sweet.” 

Ferris considered going back to his room and acting like nothing happened, interrupting them now would be incredibly awkward. However, he knew he would live all his life in regrets if he didn’t check for himself. If not to satisfy his curiosity, then to serve Crush as best as he could. A secret affair between two members of opposing factions was no trivial matter. He knew Crush would never use this information against them, but knowing about their relationship would come in handy one day. 

"Alright! I can do it! I can take it, I won’t flinch… no matter how ginormous it is.” 

“Are you ready? Because I am more than ready.” 

“Yes! Just don’t pull my hair too hard, please.” Another thump echoed in the kitchen. “And no need to take it slow, just slam it-”

Galvanizing his courage and letting his curiosity win over his principles, Ferris opened the door with confidence. He looked straight ahead and met eye to eye with Subaru who was laying on the counter. 

He then let out one of the highest shrieks he could muster. 

Not too far away, Crusch was reviewing the written grievance of the smaller nobles of her lands when she heard her knight’s high-pitched screams of terror. Instead of worrying for the poor Ferris, Crusch let out a small laugh. 

“The lack of screams on this first day of the festival was concerning. Poor Ferris, though,” she sighed. 

She put down her quill and got up to see what kind of ploy Ferris fell for. Felt and Garfiel were running around since early in the morning, setting up traps and ambushes to make her esteemed guest shriek and squeal in terror. She could have scolded them, but she couldn’t keep the people of Lugnica from celebrating one of the most important festivals of the year. 

The poor Ferris would have to be strong for those three days. 

Putting back her coat, she hurried toward Ferris and the west corridor’s small kitchen. She had noticed a while ago that Ferris had the little habit of sneaking into the kitchen for some afternoon forbidden snacks. And thus, she took care of keeping the finest treats and sweets in the great kitchen in the eastern corridor, where maids and butlers were present every hour. 

She found Ferris fairly quickly, less than a minute after hearing his screams of fright. She took place by his side and peered inside the kitchen, where the source of his terror seemed to dwell. 

“Let me see.”

And ‘see’ she did, but what she saw far exceeded her expectation; not that she knew what she expected in the first place. 

Emilia’s knight, Natsuki Subaru, was laying on one of the kitchen counters, his head firmly placed on one of the cutting boards. Reinhard was standing just behind the counter, one of his hands in Subaru’s hair, pulling it slightly backward, extending his friend’s neck. 

More importantly, his other hand was high in the air, holding one of the largest and sharpest butcher knives her kitchen had to offer. Reinhard’s smile didn’t leave his face as he was seemingly caught a mere second away from striking down his blade and cutting Subaru’s head clean off. 

“What are you doing?” 

Crusch always esteemed her memory loss didn’t dull her mind but she had to admit that this situation drove her to her wit’s end. It was far from unusual to see odd things during the ‘Days of the Dying Moon’ and her rational mind knew that she wasn’t witnessing an attempted murder. 

But just in case, she had to ask: What the hell they were trying to achieve? 

“It’s not what it looks like?” Subaru rose his arms defensively still laying on the counter. 

“No, it’s not NYAH~” Ferris stomped his feet in anger. “Reinhard was supposed to fuck you, not BEHEAD you, nyah!”

“Excuse me?” Crusch frowned. 

Ferris put both his hands over his mouth, he can’t believe he said that in front of his lady. The days of the ‘Dying Moon’ always made him overly sensitive and emotional but it was no excuse. 

“Please, forgive my knight’s unsavory comment.” Crusch bowed slightly, she would need to talk to Ferris afterward. “ However, I would like some explanation. Is it some kind of ‘Dying Moon’ trick of some sort? If so, congratulations, you surely sent chills down my spine.” 

“It wasn’t our intention, Lady Crusch.” Reinhard bowed lower in a show of respect and submission. “We were merely training.” 

“And what kind of training was this?” Crusch lips curled in a thin smile, she wanted to stay polite but the two knights made it difficult. 

“Flinching training, of course!” Subaru rose on his feet and stood on the counter before noticing his mistakes. “Sorry... “ He jumped off the counter and landed next to Reinhard. “I wanted to learn to look at the danger head-on, without flinching. It might get me killed one day you know?” 

Crusch squeezed her eyes in suspicion, she could feel the wind of untruth blow through her hair. She believed them when they said it was to train Subaru to stop flinching, the part about it being for sensible reason was a lie.

“You’re doing it because you have something for the festival in mind, yes? Something that requires Subaru to stay calm in front of danger, perhaps?” 

“I see, you saw right through us, Lady Crusch,” answered Reinhard. 

“For the loves of the gods, nyah! There is no need to do something so dangerous for those stupid days!” Ferris scoffed in disdain, this festival was already dreadful enough, he didn’t need to see one of his friends geting hurt because of it. 

“Oh.” Reinhard tilted his head. “But there is nothing dangerous about our training,” he said as he waved the butcher knife in his hand. 

“Say it to me again when you don’t have that thing in your hands, nyah!” 

“Please, Ferris, do not worry. I am always in full control of my blade.”

To prove his point, Reinhard threw the blade in the air with a smooth flick of his wrist. After gracefully flying in the air, he not only caught the blade without any effort, but one of its corners landed perfectly on the tip of his index. He then spun it on his finger as one would do with a ball. If the law of physics dictated that the spinning sharp blade should tear his glove away and bury itself in his flesh, no blood was drawn and his glove remained perfectly intact. 

Then with blinding speed, he grabbed the handle of the knife and struck the blade toward Subaru’s neck, only stopping at a single millimeter from his throat. Subaru felt the air smashing itself against his neck before seeing the blade approach him; he could feel the coldness of the steel but not the blade itself. 

Seeing his reflection in the polish steel of the blade made Subaru shiver. He swallowed his saliva; his Adam's apple would have grazed the sharp edge of the knife if Reinhard hadn't withdrawn it ever so slightly.

“Congratulations!” Reinhard smiled. “You didn’t flinch!”

“Yeah… But I almost pissed myself! I never thought I would meet your sadistic side, Reinhard!” 

“Oh, but you haven’t met him... yet.” His smile grew wider. 

“I see...” Subaru took a few steps backward, so did Ferris. 

“Ah.” Reinhard sighed as he shook his head. “It was just a ‘Dying Moon’ jest, no need to be scared. I am truly sorry.” He closed his eyes in chagrin, it was only 3 pm on the first day and he already managed to mess up by going too far. 

Crusch had not stepped back after Reinhard’s uncharacteristic joke, yet the tiny whiff of wind blowing around him as he apologized for his ‘joke’ made her want to. 

Those days announced themselves to be full of surprises. 

* * *

As one of Lady Crusch's oldest maids, Estelle also fancied herself the best cook of the whole estate. She had spent the small week-long notice Lady Crusch gave her before the esteemed guests’ arrival preparing the kitchen, so she could serve the guests the best dishes possible and make her lady proud. She even assigned one of the butlers on ‘pantry lookout’, to make sure sir Ferris didn’t eat everything sweet in the cupboards. 

When sir Reinhard insisted on helping in the kitchen to apologize for troubling Lady Crusch earlier that day, Estelle refused outright. However, her lady insisted and Estelle had to relent. At first, she had been furious about having to waste her precious time babysitting a stranger in her kitchen, but it appeared the ‘Sword Saint’ needed no such consideration. 

Not only the ‘Sword Saint’ knew perfectly what he was doing, but he had the gall (at only twenty years old, when she had been a kitchen maid for more than forty years) to correct her on how she boned the meat for tonight's steamed beef brisket. She would have gladly taken him down a peg... if his technique had not been actually more efficient than hers. 

Her pride as Lady’s Crusch best chef had died that very night. 

“Annoying, right?” 

The maid turned around to see who sneaked up on her and found one of her lady’s guests: Royal Candidate Felt. When Estelle met Lady Felt for the first time, she held nothing against the young girl but she was now regretted being acquainted with her knight. 

“Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it; the whole Astrae Estate did.” Felt offered a compassionate grin to the maid before turned toward Reinhard. “I’m gonna look at the festival’s decoration around town with Garf. Don’t stalk us.” She snapped her finger to catch his attention.   
“As you wish, my lady.” Reinhard looked up from his work to smile at her. “I entrust the young Garfiel to you.”  
“Shouldn't Garf be the one protecting me?” She rolled her eyes “Anyway, I'll be back for dinner.”

Felt exited the kitchen without waiting for Reinhard to reply; she winked at the old maid and rushed through the corridors to meet with her partner in crime. Garfiel and she used the secrecy of her bedroom as their base for operation. They had already harvested a good quantity of terrifying screams today and they were about to give a little scare to their main opponent. 

“Look at my amazing self's work! We’ll scare ‘m good, trust me.” Garfiel showed her a large black cape he spent a full hour making. “Made ‘m with the sheets, though. Don’t tell Ferris.” He grinned as he pointed to Felt's unmade bed.   
“I’m no snitch, no worries.” She nodded at her own comment. “And I’ve got the goods.” She took out one of the kitchen knives she just stole. “Now, let’s test our rivals, shall we?” 

Felt played with the knife in her hands, she would have used her own but she didn’t want Subaru to recognize it. Of course, she had no intention to harm him… just scare him a little bit. 

* * *

The cold, almost empty streets of the small city near Crusch's Estate were not a safe place for strangers and locals alike. Subaru was well aware of the risk he was taking by entering the maze of dark alleyways and dead-end but he needed to get to the estate fast. Reinhard was the one in the kitchen tonight and he agreed to prepare some chicken meatballs alongside a full bowl of homemade mayonnaise. Subaru even gave him his sacred decade-old family recipe. 

The prospective danger didn’t keep him from walking nonchalantly; holding half a dozen rolls of blueprints in the darkest street of the city. Not only was he alone in an unknown place but his hands were full and he had no weapon for self-defense. Knowing when to stop pushing his luck, Subaru started to speed up and walked fast enough to make a ruckus in the empty street. 

His footsteps echoed through the alleyway and the noise of ruffled paper ringed in his ears. But even stuck in the middle of this cacophony, he still managed to hear something move behind him. 

He turned around sharply, making most of his blueprints fall on the wet ground, but nothing was behind him. He sighed heavily, putting his paranoia on the count of the uncanny festival atmosphere. He tried to stay as cool and composed as Emilia was, but he learned very quickly that Lugnican didn’t joke around during the days of the ‘Dying Moon’. The carpenter he met earlier today refused to even talk to him until he proved himself worthy by scaring him first. 

And in return, Subaru had a taste of their weird sense of ‘humor’. As the carpenter tricked Subaru into believing he accidentally broke one of the carpenter's most expensive tools: the multinator. The idea of owning the carpenter more than 50 holy coins made Subaru sweat bullets and, truth be told, also almost made him faint in terror. 

But not only did he not break anything, but the ‘multinator’ didn’t even exist. The fact he had been about to give all the cash he had on him without asking questions was troubling. Thankfully, the carpenter was a good-natured man and didn’t abuse Subaru's naivety. Not that he would have gotten a lot from his misdeed, as Subaru's pocket were as empty as his Priscilla's heart. 

He shook his head and clapped his cheeks with energy to wake himself up, he needed to stop thinking about his past mistakes and get out of this place. 

He crouched to pick up the blueprint he let fall on the ground, looking disgusted as the papers had gotten wet from the puddle they fell in. 

“Shit… Hope the ink didn’t smear off.” 

Unfortunately, saying it out loud couldn’t hide the reality, his hard work had been ruined and he only had himself to blame. 

He slowly got up as he tried to keep the blueprints firmly in his arms. However, before he could take a single step in front of him, something pulled him backward and startled him enough to make him return his blueprints to their puddle of water and ink. 

Suddenly, a rough voice growled into his ear: “Do not move.” 

Before Subaru could respond, his aggressor took out a sharp knife and pressed it slightly against his throat, just enough to draw the smallest sliver of blood. Ignoring the feeling of the steel penetrating his flesh, he zeroed in on his breathing, keeping it as steady as possible. 

Assessing his situation, he could only notice how bad the situation was for him. Whoever attacked him had a knife at his throat and had a death-grip on his dominant arm. He could try to wrestle out of his hold, but he had nowhere to flee; his aggressors would most likely be more acquainted with the intricate city layout than he did. 

Slowly, Subaru reached for his whip with his free hand; the position forbade him from deploying it and using it on his assailant, however, cracking it out loud enough could perhaps scare them away. 

“Do you hear me?” muttered the man. “Now… It’s your money or your life.” he continued, making his threat more palpable by toying with the knife at his victim’s throat

“My money… or my life…” repeated Subaru in disbelief. “Is that what you what?” 

“...Yes?” the man answered, rather confused by the light tone his victim was using. 

“Aaaah, that’s good, then… I was scared for a hot minute! Phew!” 

After hearing the good news, Subaru’s body relaxed instantly and he let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding in. 

He had been really worried at some point, thinking that this Dumb, Dumber, and Dumbest knock-off could be a real threat. He even thought he was from the Witch Cult, or Meili’s ex assassin organization, or one of Emilia’s political enemies, or a militia of Elf-haters… or maybe he was someone who could smell his witch scent, or one of those human traffickers… He even believed he had just won a rendezvous with the Lugnican Jack the Ripper. 

But it was just a stupid thief. Subaru had learned his lesson, as long as he didn’t run straight into the robber’s knife, he should be alright. And if worse came to worst, he still had his trump card nearby.

Deciding to open the negotiations, Subaru said, “I know you want some money, but as most people know, I’m broke beyond compare,” he chuckled, the man really chose his victim poorly. “I have like… two bronze coins and a peanut.” He pondered for a few seconds. “Scratch that… I already ate the peanut, so I only have two bronze coins. Wanna have them?” 

Not minding the knife at his throat, he emptied his pockets in search of the coins. Ever since he lost more than five holy coins by forgetting his jacket somewhere, Beatrice had been the one holding on to his money; he truly hoped he didn’t lie to the poor robber and he actually had those two coins. 

“Wait, wait, wait… I think I have it there!” he exclaimed. “Ah, no… It’s just a button… Sorry.” 

“ _ Enough! _ ” hissed the man, didn’t Subaru understand the gravity of the situation? “I have a goodman blade on your throat.”

“Yeah… I noticed.” He rolled his eyes. “Rude, by the way.” 

“Rude??? I am going to kill you, you motherfu–”

“HEY!” Subaru threw his arms in the air. “No need to be this vulgar, you know. My fantasy world adventure is PG-13… if you forget about the blood and stuff.” 

Pondering the absurdity of his remark, Subaru dove deep in thought, asking himself a very philosophical question: how would the censors rate his life? 

His parents raised him well, so he (almost) never cursed; as do most of the people he met here. He had no sex life (yet… or at least he hoped he could say ‘yet’), so he was safe on this ground. He was rarely around alcohol and he didn’t even know if hard drugs existed here, so this part of his life was clean too. 

But he had met the Great Rabbit, so the rating would most likely be something like: Unrated, snuff movies are illegal. It was extremely depressing, but it made sense, he truly hoped his life wasn’t being broadcasted back in Japan, or less his poor parents might…

Taking a big inspiration, he yelled “ _ Get your act together, man! _ ” __

“What are you doi–” Unable to finish his sentence, the man got interrupted once again. 

“Nobody would want to watch my sorry life anyway… or if they did they would have stopped somewhere around Julius beating the shit out of me…” 

“ _ I said listen to me! _ ” 

The robber’s frustration had reached its peak; his hands were shaking in rage, menacing to drop the knife on the floor. 

His voice suddenly getting an octave higher, ‘he’ snapped, “W _ hat the hell is wrong with you? _ ” 

“Ah! So you’re a girl!” Subaru lamented, why did half the girl he met wanted to kill him? Or even tried to? Or actually did? “Is my face this ugly, I mea–” 

“ _ Shut up. _ ”

“Ok.” 

Behind the fabric ‘he’ used as a mask, the robber grumbled under his breath ‘his’ master plan was a massive failure, a pathetic defeat, an ugly farce. Subaru was supposed to cower in fear and beg for mercy, not complain about his appearance like he was talking to his hairdresser. 

‘He’ almost wanted to tell Subaru that he really was ugly, as an act of sterile revenge for transforming ‘his’ great plan into… this. It had started great, ‘he’ had high hopes this very morning; ‘he’ would harvest Subaru’s sweet scream of terror for the ‘Days of the Dying Moon’ and thus, win their little competition. 

Indeed, beneath the baggy clothes and the large scarf was not a man, but two teens; one sitting on the shoulder of the other. They had worked on their ‘mugger’ act all morning and had felt like they were ready to make the town red. 

Unfortunately, they had gravely underestimated their opponent. Or more precisely, the girl of the duo did; the boy knew exactly who they were fighting with and even advised his partner against settling for such a simple plan. 

Yet he followed her, maybe she knew something he didn’t; turned out the contrary was true, he was the one in the know and she was the naive one. Of course, C’ptn wouldn't be intimidated by a petty thief, thinking he would, would be as dumb as the breeze going from the west. 

However, the girl was not ready to give up yet. 

She cleared her throat and with a fake deep voice said, “Listen, punk. I have enough of you, so I’m going to kill you.” 

“Oh no,” Subaru sighed. 

“What?” Her fake voice escaped her again. “ I mean…  _ What? _ Ain’t you scared of dying?” 

“What me?” He pointed toward himself. “I am terrified of dying. Dying sucks, 0/10, would not recommend,” he lamented, couldn’t his aggressor feel the terror in his voice. “Like, please, don’t kill me; it would be so uncool.” 

“Are ya kidding me…” 

“Listen, dude… or dudette… I don’t know,” continued Subaru. “I don’t have much time, so I’m going to need to use my trump card.”

Hearing this, Garfiel almost jumped in joy; his C’ptn’s trump card must be one of his most powerful attacks. Maybe it was the one used to almost KO him back in the sanctuary? He had always wished for an opportunity to see it again and study it, however, his field of view was obstructed by their mugger disguise. He hoped Felt was happy, she would get to witness this magnificent when he would see nothing but black fabric. 

Clearing his throat and reading his vocal cords of steel, Subaru shouted on the top of his lungs. “ _ Ultimate Trump Card _ ” He paused to inhale more air, he had to make his voice reach the other side of the town, after all. “ULTIMATE BLUE-EYED RED SWORD-SAINT REINHARD!!! I SUMMON YOU.” 

The ground shook beneath their feet as Subaru’s voice echoed through the alley. A flash illuminated the sky, blinding both Felt and Subaru, before crashing to the ground. What should have destroyed everything in its wake due to its incredible velocity, landed gracefully like a dove on an olive branch; leaving the ground unaltered. 

Before them a man cladded in white appeared, harboring bright red hair and a dashing smile; he brought with him an aura of uncanny calmness, freezing the alley’s atmosphere into a mixture of quietness and apprehension. 

“I thought we went over this, Subaru. I may have blue eyes and red hair, but there is nothing ‘Ultimate’ about me,” he reprimanded with a growing smile on his face. “By the way, I see you made a new friend.” 

“Sorry, Reinhard. I couldn’t help myself; I thought about doing Exodia… I’m once again saying weird things, aren’t I?”

“I am afraid so.” Reinhard chuckled warmly. “Now if it doesn’t bother you, would you kindly introduce your new friend to me?” 

When she saw her knight fall from the sky, Felt had to keep herself from bashing her own head against the nearby wall; that man always found a way to ruin her day. She wondered if he recognized her, he surely had the ‘Divine Blessing of Recognition’ or something similar, he was the king of asspull after all. 

However, instead of looking at her, Reinhard had only eyes for the knife in her hand; his smile wouldn’t foul her, he was ready to attack at any moment. 

“What do you need my help for, Subaru,” asked Reinhard, slowly walking toward his friend; if he recognized Felt, he didn’t show it. His steps were feline and gracile, yet showed unmeasurable strength as they echoed in the empty alley. “Is your friend lost?” 

Cutting through the tension, Subaru answered, “Lost in poverty, maybe. I wanted to give him some money but I’m b–”

“Broke beyond compare, I know. Then let me intervene.” 

Felt watched as Reinhard advanced slowly toward her, she had seen such intensity in his stare only a handful of times before and never directed at her. As cold sweat dripped off her back, she started to think about the best way to get away from there. 

She couldn’t help but be on edge, she knew for a fact that it would never come to violence; not only Reinhard despised it, but he would also recognize her the second he truly paid attention to her. Yet the most primal part of her brain could not ignore how threatening his mere presence felt. 

More than her safety, it was her pride that was on the line; if Subaru knew it was her, he would never let her forget about it. Moreover, Reinhard might even ground her and take her desert right away for a week, and anyone who ate Reinhard’s cooking would know how much of a tragedy it would be. 

Still firmly sitting on Garfiel’s shoulder, Felt squeezed her thighs around his neck three times; it was the emergency code for a quick escape. She let go of her knife and retracted one of her hands inside her coat, grabbing a handful of Garfiel’s hair to guide him out of the alley. 

Bolting out of the alley, Felt silently swore vengeance: her next attempt at scaring him would be  _ legendary _ . He will cry for his mother and beg for mercy. 

Watching the ‘thief’ running away, Reinhard lamented “Maybe I went a little overboard…” 

“Naaah, you were perfect.” Subaru gave him a thumb up, he was proud of his friend’s newfound acting skills. “She was the one who started the hostilities by pulling a knife on me… Tch.”

“When did you notice it was Felt?”

“When she dropped the act for a second because of how annoying I was.” He scoffed “It’s one of the strongest weapons in my arsenal” 

“It really is, it is particularly effective against most of us.” Unaware of Subaru’s souring mood, he continued, “In fact, I never meet anyone who didn’t comment on how a–” 

“Reinhard… Please.”

Reinhard cocked his head, he had let his tongue run wild once again. He looked away in shame, he had wondered before if he had a blessing of the ‘mood killer but his inadequacies were just a natural talent. It only happened more often nowadays because he picked up the bad habit of dropping his guard when he was alone with Felt or Subaru. 

“Aaah, come on! Don’t give me this frown.” Tiptoeing to make himself taller, Subaru softly patted Reinhard’s head. “You know what, let’s get back to Crusch's Estate. I still have my revenge match against you! You’ll see very soon who is the true Chessmaster, the King of Game!”

“Yes, it’s true.” Reinhard hung his head lower, letting the warmth of the head pat comfort him. It may be selfish to indulge himself so shamelessly when he hurt his friend’s feelings just a few seconds ago, but he couldn’t resist the sheer power of this lovely gesture. “You are getting better and better with every game, it’s truly bluffing.”

“So you’re saying that I might beat you today?”

“Hahaha… no.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My boy Subaru and Reinhard are too adorable for their own good. They give me life.


End file.
